A sudden, strange warmth bloomed just above Luke’s head, breaking the heavy, stagnant chill of the ancient stone hall.
Before he could process the feeling, a soft, resonant hum vibrated through the air. Silver and dark violet light began to bleed into the shadows.
Luke’s heart stalled. He froze, his eyes darting upward in absolute shock.
The fragments of Time and Space had manifested.
They hovered in the dim light, swirling together like two living streams of starlight and deep ocean water. These were the same fragments that the Will of the World had forcefully woven into his Ice core during his excruciating second awakening. He had manually suppressed them just moments ago to allow the ring’s portal to pull him here.
Now, reacting to the dense, ancient spatial magic of Petra’s isolated dimension, they had emerged entirely on their own.
Panic gripped his chest.
He had wanted to keep this a secret, even though he had known there was a chance of exposure — just as it had happened before the eyes of the World's Will. When Petra had scanned his soul and did not mention it, he had assumed the fragments were safely buried. He never expected them to reveal themselves.
Slowly, Luke turned his head to look at Petra.
The ancient Arcana mage stood entirely silent. The terrifying, oceanic pressure that constantly radiated from her body vanished, replaced by a breathless, suffocating silence.
She stared at the floating lights above his head. Beneath the shadow of her hood, her silver-pale eyes were wide with pure disbelief. She looked at the fragments as if she recognised the terrifying weight of what they were, yet completely failed to understand how they could exist here.
The most unbelievable part for her was not that fragments of Time and Space existed. It was the fact that they were here, swirling gently above the head of a weak, second-stage awakener.
As a survivor of the fallen Arcana civilisation from thirty thousand years ago, Petra Kross knew the deepest secrets of the universe. She was legendary for her mastery of prophecy magic. The moment Luke had stepped into her hall, she had already read the invisible threads of his life.
To her ancient eyes, his fate had been painfully clear. Because he carried the forbidden Ice Seal—a power she knew would eventually be exploited because of the game that already set—he was destined to be nothing more than a stepping stone. A sacrifice meant to be drained and discarded in the grand, violent game approaching the 10th Trial.
But seeing these silver and violet lights floating above him, everything she thought she knew shattered. Time and Space did not follow the standard rules of destiny. They bent them.
The silence stretched, thick and heavy, until Petra finally spoke, her voice breaking the stillness as she revealed to Luke the reason for its sudden arrival.
"This power..." her voice echoed softly through the stone pillars, entirely stripped of its usual intimidating edge. "It has a will of its own."
Hearing her voice, Luke snapped out of his daze.
Petra closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath. When she opened them again, the atmosphere in the hall shifted. "It seems," she said slowly, "I must change the terms of our deal."
Luke's entire body tensed. A cold spike of fear drove into his stomach. Every instinct drilled into him from his Bureau training flared to life, his muscles tightening as he prepared for a fight he knew he could not win. Things were spiralling out of his control too quickly. This was the bitter, terrifying price of being weak in a world filled with ancient monsters. He had no leverage. He could only put his trust in the knowledge of the novel.
He clenched his fists, forcing a mask of calm bravado onto his face, readying himself for the worst.
Petra studied his defensive posture. She saw through the facade of courage instantly and let out a quiet, weary sigh.
"Calm down, little one," she said, her tone suddenly gentle. "I am not going to eat you."
She took a slow step closer, her voice turning serious but reassuring. "Listen to me carefully. I can see how the Will of the World forged those fragments into your core. They have merged perfectly with your soul and your destiny. They are yours. No one can take them from you. If anyone in this world tried to rip them out, the soul backlash would destroy them. They would pay a price far heavier than they could ever afford."
She gestured toward the glowing lights. "Furthermore, as you have already seen, they can hide themselves whenever they wish. If they do not want to be seen, not even the gods will find them."
The tension in Luke’s shoulders instantly melted. He let out a long, shaky breath, feeling as though a physical weight had just been lifted off his chest. His greatest trump card was safe.
Petra watched him relax, a faint smile touching her lips beneath her hood. "Because of this," she continued, "I will grant your wish. I will accept you as my true apprentice."
Luke blinked in surprise, the sudden shift catching him off guard. "Why the change of mind?"
Her smile widened slightly. "Because now, you are worth my effort. A fate altered by Time and Space is an anomaly. In a world hurtling toward destruction, an anomaly like you will greatly aid my own plans."
She raised a pale finger, making sure he understood the boundaries of their agreement. "But you must remember, I am merely an incarnation. Do not think the true Petra Kross out in the stars has accepted you. Our bond as master and apprentice will end the exact moment my mission on this world is complete."
"I understand," Luke said without hesitation.
A profound wave of relief washed over him. He was getting far more than he had ever anticipated when he found the ring in the Corporation's vault. Having an ancient mage guide his growth meant he could finally train his Time, Space, and Ice Seal abilities without Silver Moon or Emily's System ever finding out.
"Okay," Luke said, his voice steady now. "I accept."
Petra nodded in approval. "Good. But if I am going to train you properly, I cannot do it from inside this sealed space. I must get out into the outside world."
Luke nodded quickly, his mind flashing to the plot of the novel. "I know where the other two Rings of the Deep Sea are hidden. I can help you find them. It will be dangerous, and it will take a lot of time to retrieve them, but I can do it."
Petra held up her hand to stop him. "To get out of here," she said softly, "the rings will no longer be needed."
She tilted her head back, her ancient silver eyes fixing onto the fragments still humming gently above Luke's head. She understood now why his soul had violently resisted her portal earlier.
"We have something right here," Petra said, her voice filled with quiet awe, "that is going to make things much easier for us."